The Arrow of Destiny Cuts Through the Night

#42

Getting engaged to Kain Starchis as Marchioness Elmerila Gerold wished was actually Jersian’s intention. It was worth acting as the youngest master who had fallen for an elf at first sight and was showering him with gifts from his personal vault.

Having Kain Starchis as his fiancé would greatly reduce his worries.

From what Jersian had observed so far, Kain Starchis was someone who would do anything he wanted. Whether engagement or marriage, it wasn’t a particularly important issue for Kain, an elf. Of course, as Merheim had worried, Jersian was aware that he might be treating the engagement too lightly.

‘But this is the best option right now.’

Jersian thought to himself. The Tesena royal family wouldn’t be as cooperative as Kain Starchis, and it might be difficult to reverse the engagement itself. That was what Jersian was most concerned about. Aunt Elmerila would naturally want to extend the relationship with the Tesena royal family from engagement to marriage.

“…”

Kain’s light green eyes, which had been directed wherever he looked, passed in front of Jersian’s eyes.

As well as Kain’s face when he said they were destined partners.

‘He’ll be disappointed.’

Kain probably wouldn’t be very happy if he heard about this plan now. He already knows that even if it’s called an engagement, it’s just a facade.

What Kain wants is a destined partner. Although Jersian wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, he was certain it was precisely the opposite of what he was about to do.

After contemplating for a long time in his office, Jersian picked up the bell. It was to summon Kain Starchis to his office.

Perhaps he was closer than expected, as the servant who went to fetch Kain quickly returned to the office.

“Young Master Jersian, I’ve brought Lord Kain.”

“Alright, I’ll go to the reception room.”

Jersian’s office had an adjoining reception room for guests. He got up and walked there.

As soon as he entered the reception room, Kain greeted him with a welcoming voice.

“Lord Jersian.”

“…Yes.”

Jersian’s view was filled with Kain Starchis sitting upright on the large sofa.

Perhaps benefiting from the help of the Gerold family’s servants known for their skilled hands, Kain had been showcasing an even more surreal appearance than before for some time now. He already had perfect looks as if he had stepped out of a painting, but just by having his hair tidied and wearing luxurious clothes, he seemed to draw all the attention around him. It was as if a huge, sun-like halo was following behind him.

In reality, his face was cold, as if he had no interest in others’ gazes, but that expression itself, being that of a haughty elf, became an element that added to his charm.

Kain slightly tilted his head and spoke to Jersian, who had been staring at his face for a while.

“…I heard you called for me.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jersian quickly returned his face to normal after looking briefly foolish, then continued.

“I called you here because I have something to tell you.”

“Yes.”

Kain sat on the opposite sofa and answered obediently with a docile face. Jersian felt a pang of conscience about having to tell him to ‘pretend to be engaged’.

But he couldn’t go back on his decision now. Kain was the only card that could suppress the engagement talks with the Tesena royal family.

“…”

Seeing Jersian hesitate, a question arose in Kain’s eyes. But he was an elf who knew how to wait quietly. After a moment, Jersian spoke in a calm voice.

“An engagement ceremony will be prepared soon.”

Ah, Kain’s lips parted slightly. Engagement was a human culture that Jersian had explained to him before. It was a public declaration of two people’s intention to be together forever, though not as strong as marriage.

“…Are you talking about the engagement you mentioned with someone from the Tesena royal family?”

Jersian still hadn’t received the revelation of his destined partner. Promising ‘forever’ with someone else before that was equivalent to rejecting Kain.

Although he had said ‘just let me stay by your side’ when he first met Jersian, him getting engaged to someone else was a slightly different matter. It would be several times harder to turn Jersian’s heart if he got engaged to another human and eventually came to love them.

So it’s come to this after all. His mouth tasted bitter.

Hmm, Jersian confirmed Kain’s expression and then nodded weakly once with a strange face. He became more curious about how Kain would react.

Both engagement and marriage were too distant concepts for Kain. It wouldn’t be too difficult to wait until Jersian received the revelation about his destined partner, but it seemed a bit challenging to stay by Jersian’s side after he got engaged to someone else.

“…”

Kain chewed the inside of his mouth and couldn’t continue speaking for a moment. His already cold-looking face grew even colder.

“Seems quite shocking to you.”

Jersian spoke to the cold-faced Kain.

“Will you still stay by my side?”

It was a light tone, but one that seemed to want to know the other’s true feelings. Is he asking if I’ll still stay by his side even if he gets engaged to another human? What a cruel question.

But there was only one answer Kain could give from beginning to end.

“…”

Immediately, Kain’s soft light green eyes turned to Jersian.

Jersian’s fingers trembled at that gaze, though he had asked the question pretending to be nonchalant. Occasionally, when Kain looked at him so intently like this, it felt as if they were the only two left in this world.

Kain’s answer that he wanted to stay by his side even if he got engaged to someone else would be satisfying. It tickled his heart and made him feel good… but at the same time, he naturally felt conflicted, scolding himself that he shouldn’t be pleased by such words.

Kain spoke in a low voice.

“…May I stay by your side?”

Though cautious, the sentence was filled with Kain’s characteristic strength.

“I want to stay by your side as much as you allow, Lord Jersian.”

“…”

The words that came out of his mouth were exactly what Jersian wanted to hear. But after hearing them, Jersian became curious.

“…Is that because I’m your ‘destined partner’?”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t love me for who I am, for what you’ve seen of me so far… You just want to be by my side because my name is engraved on your body. Because I’m your destined partner.”

For some reason, he felt upset. Kain’s blind and infinite trust and love were based on just his name alone. Moreover, that name wasn’t even Jersian’s anymore.

“…Would you dislike it if I answered yes?”

Kain, witnessing Jersian’s complex emotions, tilted his head slightly and asked. From his perspective, it was already a settled matter. If Jersian wasn’t his destined partner, Kain would never have left the Fiokhim Mountains in the first place, and they would have ended their lives without even knowing of each other’s existence.

“…”

Jersian glared at Kain, who was thinking this internally, for a moment with dissatisfaction. He didn’t like that an elf could be so blindly devoted to a mere mark.

It meant that even if the name engraved in the mark wasn’t ‘Jersian Del Claude’ but someone else’s, he would have looked at them with such eyes.

The mere thought of that scene made him feel disgusted. Jersian narrowed his eyes and stared at Kain’s smooth face sitting opposite him.

‘…Everyone probably fell for it easily.’

That made him even more irritated.

Jersian suddenly stood up from the sofa without answering Kain’s question. Immediately, he could feel Kain looking up at him with a questioning gaze. Jersian turned his head and abruptly said,

“Things will get very busy from now on. You’ll have a lot to prepare too.”

“Pardon?”

What does that mean…

Kain stood up from the sofa behind and reacted.

“I told you there would be an engagement ceremony.”

“But why would I… Isn’t it the engagement ceremony with the Tesena royal family?”

“No.”

Jersian turned his head back and met Kain’s gaze as he stood awkwardly. His red pupils were sharp.

“That engagement ceremony is for you and me.”

With that, Jersian blurted out one sentence and then strode out of the reception room.

“W-Wait.”

Kain tried to stop Jersian leaving the room with a flustered voice, but he didn’t stop walking.

“What do you mean by an engagement ceremony between you and me?”

Kain asked as he followed Jersian out of the reception room.

‘Yes, this is how it should have been from the start.’

Jersian pulled his lips into a smile without giving his attention to Kain, who was calling out to him with an anxious voice.